Month: July 2012

Recent polls have found that nearly 91% of certain age groups think that Christians are “antihomosexual.” As in, we hate the person as well as their sin. And this week, I fear that most Christians on Facebook are trying to increase that percentage.

Because when a well-known president of a well-known restaurant chain speaks out on gay marriage, all we care about is that he said all the right buzzwords. Not that he also spoke a long string of judgmental words in there are as well. Nor that he trumpeted his definition of marriage as more “Biblical” than other definitions – even though he probably supports the Americanized version of marriage. A version of marriage that makes polygamy, concubines (legalized sex slaves), and forced marriages illegal. Never mind that those are all accepted in the Bible, therefore making the current “traditional” definition of marriage itself a re-definition of true Biblical marriage.

People have moved past the old definitions of hate, where you actually spoke racial slurs and told people they were less than human to their face. People are now looking at how you treat people that are different than you… how you speak to those that don’t agree with your position. It is one thing to say that you don’t agree. It is another thing to mock people that don’t agree with you. It is another thing to accuse them of being ignorant, silly, nit-picky, ridiculous, or hypocritical just because they disagree with you. This is looked at as modern-day hate speech. It goes over the line of disagreeing and into the realm of demeaning in subtle ways. We have to realize that sometimes hate can be subtle or implied.

So, looking at what has been posted on Facebook this week, it seems that Christians are more concerned with being right than with having compassion. We care more about the freedom of speech rather than speaking with love. We would rather post lame jokes about supporting Chick-fil-a than trying to see how the words of Dan Cathay affect the people he has been speaking against. Because he didn’t just speak about an issue. He spoke about the people behind that issue in a demeaning, judgmental way. Nothing in the Bible supports that.

And the big one that saddens me the most is that we would rather blast people for reacting wrong than try to understand why they are reacting in the first place. I agree that many of the calls for boycotts are way over the line. But instead of spending all of our time mocking people for calling for them… why not try to understand where they are coming from? You will probably still disagree with them, but maybe you will help them to understand why they are hurt, rather than pouring more hurt on top of a lifetime of pain.

I say this with a heavy heart because many of the people I call friends with would rather post harsh things on Facebook slamming people for reacting incorrectly than try to understand in love and grace.

People get hurt and they react rashly. Welcome to dealing with the human race 101. Gay people feel hated and ostracized by the Church. Do we not get that? I don’t think so. Not at all. Because if we did, it wouldn’t matter that people were calling for boycotts. It would matter that hurt people are being hurt even more by our actions. And maybe we would stop adding to the chorus of hurt.

So you can continue to slam people for calling for boycotts. I won’t necessarily join in the boycott, but I will tell them that I get where they are coming from and understand the logic behind their frustration. You can post sarcastic attempts at humor on Facebook, but I will try to bridge gaps with those that feel left out of our closed Church societies. You can continue to add to the chorus of people that want to pile sarcasm on top of decades worth of hate, but I will stand up and say “enough is enough!”

I won’t let it slide or stick my head in the sand (as much as I like the idea of both). I don’t let silly eCards with pithy (but illogical) statements determine my theology. I don’t let people’s over-reactions to Cathay’s statements drive me to slam a group of people that need compassion rather than (yet another) slap on the wrists. I am in this discussion because Jesus said to love.

I’ll boldly admit that I just don’t get the One Million Moms group. Maybe it is because I am not a Mom. But my Wife, who also happens to be a Mom, usually shakes her head in bewilderment at most of their tactics. So I know I am not alone in this.

It would seem to me that more Moms would want to spend their time finding out about good alternatives for their children than protesting what they see as “bad.” After all, money speaks and companies will notice a sales spike or drop more than they will a mound of angry emails.

The current target of One Million Moms is the “evil” that is Oreo cookies. I type that as I am literally munching on one (mmmmm….) right now. Oreo Cookies came out in support of Gay Pride, so now we have to stop eating them. Who cares about the health issues that eating too many Oreos will bring about, or the fact that children are starving in our own country and around the world. Let’s boycott a non-Christian company that is acting like a non-Christian company and supporting equal rights for all of its employees.

Yet, the One Million Moms Facebook page is still active.. and there are no calls to boycott Google that I can find.

But one rather tame add by Oreo’s? Boycott! Send emails!

I wondered why, but then I realized that it is much easier to boycott one cookie brand or department store chain than the entire center of the Internet.

I am all for standing up to help people. The Bible is full of references to standing up for the poor and abused of society. So when we hear of abusive practices, child labor, and other issues that stem from the abuse and misuse of power, I say make your voices be heard.

But how often did we see Jesus pointing a finger at the Greeks for being Greek? Yep… never. Jesus most often pointed fingers at the Jewish religious leaders for getting caught up in hateful actions towards one another and the people around them.

A gay man was walking from his house to the neighborhood grocery store, when he was attacked by a group of thugs. They took his clothes and possessions, beat him and went away… leaving him half dead. A preacher happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw that the man was gay, passed by on the other side. A good Christian Mom saw him also and decided to create a movement to boycott the street that let a gay man walk down it. But a homeless man came to where the man was and felt sorry for him.He bandaged his wounds, even putting on some rubbing alcohol he had been saving. Then he put the gay man in his own shopping cart and rolled him to a hotel and took care of him. The next day he took out all the money he had and gave it to the hotel owner. “Look after him,” he said, “and when I return from begging for more money, I will reimburse you for any extra you may have to spend.”

Which of these three do you think was a good Christian to the gay man who fell into the hands of thugs?

The world is full of thugs that want to beat up on all kinds of people – maybe not always physically, but definitely emotionally and socially. Do we want to join the thugs just to get to the chance to “be right”, or do we want to be known for our mercy and compassion?

At one point in history, an expert of religious law was told a story like this one and asked who was the good person in the story.